The Big “M” Casino ship, which sailed from Fort Myers Beach for nearly 18 years, will not return after leaving earlier this year for what was billed as a summer run in South Carolina.

The decision not to come back to Fort Myers Beach was announced in a Sept. 21 release. Instead, the Big “M” will permanently stay with its sister ship in Myrtle Beach. The choice was made to relocate the Big “M” because of high demand in Myrtle Beach, where its sister ship has been sailing in Little River, S.C., since May 2008, the release said.

The Big “M” sailed in and out of its Fort Myers Beach port at Moss Marine, entertaining thousands of locals and visitors. The 168-foot yacht, which features games such as blackjack, craps, roulette and a variety of slot machines, served Southwest Florida since November 1997. Guests could partake in an all-you-can-eat buffet and occasional live music.

George Freeland, 77, a longtime Lee County resident and entrepreneur who made his fortune from auto dealerships, owns the Big "M" ships. He also owns Moss Marine, buying it in 1983 and expanding the facility and its services. Freeland sold most of his dealerships to Sonic Automotive Inc. in 1999, but kept two Nissan stores, Harbor Nissan in Port Charlotte and Naples Nissan.

Attempts to reach Freeland were unsuccessful. A woman at Moss Marine had no comment. A call to Big "M" operation in Myrtle Beach was answered, with assurance a message seeking comment would get delivered to an appropriate person, but a return call was not received.

A June 5 release stated the Fort Myers Beach ship was moving to Little River, which is next to Myrtle Beach, for the “2015 Summer Season.” It started operations there July 2.

That release called it a seasonal move that stemmed from the recent purchase of the SunCruz Casino property in Little River, adjacent to The Big “M” Casino’s operation there. The Big “M” Casino II ship operating from Little River will continue to operate on a year round basis, while The Big “M” Casino I ship from Fort Myers will provide additional casino trips to handle summer business from Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas, the release said. Once the season in Myrtle Beach comes to a close, The Big “M” Casino I will return to Fort Myers Beach to resume service for 2015-16, beginning Nov. 1, the release said.

According to Myrtle Beach media reports:

Big "M" Casino bought the SunCruz property for $2 million in August 2014, according to Horry County records.

The Horry County Council agreed to a settlement with Big M Gaming and SunCruz to recoup $484,272 of the $700,000 SunCruz owed the county in boarding fees it had stopped paying. A county ordinance required casino boats to pay $7 per passenger as a boarding fee. County Attorney Arrigo Carotti said in August 2014 the county was pleased to continue to work with Big M Gaming because it abides by county rules.

“There’s going to be one operator, one business owner, at two locations,” Carotti said. “Big 'M' has always been great at paying and complying with the ordinances. So, it should be a good continuing relationship.”

Back in Southwest Florida, Frank “Bud” Nocera, president of the Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, called the Big "M" "a wonderful tourism amenity for Fort Myers Beach" that leaves a void.

"The owner of the Big 'M' has the business responsibility of placing the boat wherever the most profit is," he said. "That’s very understandable. Certainly we’re going to miss the Big 'M.' It creates a vacuum for that type of entertainment. It’ll be interesting to see if another boat comes in to fill the vacuum.”

Fran Myers, owner of the Coconut Point RV Resort on Fort Myers Beach, wondered whether ongoing traffic work in the area played into the decision.

"It’s a big, huge effect on business out here," she said. "I don’t think this is the last business to go away. That was a large attraction for our beach. I think it’s really unfortunate."

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